COLUMBUS, Ohio -- About 6,300 Ohioans cast absentee ballots by the end of the first week of early in-person voting for the May primary election, but that’s just a fraction of the ballots requested, according to the Ohio secretary of state’s office.

Early in-person voting began across the state April 1, the same day boards of elections began sending out absentee ballots to those who had made early requests.

The 6,274 votes cast so far includes ballots returned by mail and those cast in person at boards of elections by April 4, the end of the first week of early voting.

More than one-third of those were in Cuyahoga County, which had tallied more than 21,500 requests. That’s more than the next nine counties combined. Franklin County had the second largest total with just over 6,000 requests for absentee ballots.

The primary election will decide party nominations for several major state offices, including governor. All of the state’s House seats are up for election this year, as are half of those in the state Senate. Members of the U.S. House also are up for election, as are countywide offices around the state.

You can learn more about the candidates and issues in the interactive Voter Guide, a joint project of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the League of Women Voters in Cuyahoga County.

Cuyahoga County Elections Director Pat McDonald has said he expects Issue 7, which would extend the tax on alcohol and cigarettes that provides revenue for sports facilities, could push up the absentee totals in his county.

Early voting continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays at county board of elections offices through May 2 and also from 8 a.m. to noon on May 3.

Voters have until May 3 to request their absentee ballot if they plan to return it by mail. The ballots must be postmarked by May 5 and received at the elections board by May 16. Absentee ballots may also be delivered in person to county elections board offices until the close of polls on May 6.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.